Never Tell
by Rach Raff
Summary: What if Gil's relationship with Catherine hadn't always been quite so platonic? Would it throw a wrench in his current relationship with Sara?


"You didn't think to tell me about this?!"

Grissom rubs his forehead, staring at his feet.

_Shit._

"Last I checked we were engaged and _she is_ my maid of honor. Hmmm…Correct me if I'm wrong but I think, maybe, this was a piece of information I should've been privy to!"

_Double shit._

Grissom leans against his desk, arms folded, silent.

"Hello?"

"What do you want me to say? It was a long time ago."

"How long ago?"

"I'm not doing this right now. We'll talk later."

"How long, Gil?"

He resigns biting his inner cheek and staring at the floor.

_Fuck._

He mumbles. "She was going through her break-up with Eddie and-"

"Wasn't Eddie your friend?"

"Not at that point. He was always going out partying…cheating. She needed comfort."

_Thank you, Catherine. _

"So you slept with her? That's a _hell_ of a way to comfort her."

He winces. "It wasn't like that. You don't understand."

"Please fill me in, oh dear Casanova."

He glares at her for a beat and feels his blood pressure rising.

rap rap

"Come in," Grissom says, retreating behind his desk. Catherine enters with a file and immediately wants to leave.

_Speak of the devil. _

He glares at Catherine from across the room and then turns his attention back to Sara.

"I'm sorry. Is this a bad time?"

_Is the sky blue?_

Sara's eyes narrow and she glares at Gil.

"Actually I was just leaving. You two obviously have a lot to talk about," Sara says, slamming her engagement ring on his desk.

"Sara- don't do this. Please."

"Don't worry Gil. You always have Catherine to _comfort_ you."

She slams the door behind her.

He stares at Catherine for a moment and then takes off into the hallway.

_It's a good thing we're in swing shift so we're at minimal staff. _

"Sara," he yells to no avail. He turns the corner in time to see the elevator doors close on the tear-stained love of his life. His shoulders slump as he walks back to his office, shoving the ring deep into his pocket.

""What kind of a fiancé keeps this information a secret anyway?" Catherine cracks.

_Screw you, Catherine. You had no right. _

"An ex. That's who."

"Honestly, I thought you told her. I'm sorry"

_Are you?_

"How- no, why did this even come up?"

She pauses for a moment.

"We were chatting about our past and it came up. What the hell does it matter?"

He stares at her, eyebrow raised, obviously wanting more than this answer. She leans over the desk, right in his face.

She whispers, "For the record she's been with two."

"Thanks." He twiddles his fingers, trying to suppress the lump in his…throat.

_I knew that. She never withheld anything from me. _

"I tried to tell her that you're a great guy and she's lucky to have you. _blah blah blah_ …There was silence and then she hung up."

"There was really no need to –"

"I thought she knew," she reiterates, backing up and standing.

"I understand but –"

_Bitch_.

He rolls his eyes and puts his head in his hands. "We haven't-well that is to say…I think I know another reason she's upset."

"I'll call her."

His head pops up, "No, you've done enough for one night. I need to take care of this on my own."

Tears flood his eyes and she instinctively slings an arm over him.

"She'll come around."

He wipes his eyes with the back of his hand but he doesn't look at her. He shrugs off her arm.

"And if she doesn't?"

He looks up at her, searching for an answer.

"I can't stand to see those tears roll down her face one more time. It's not fair…to her."

Warrick enters.

"Sorry, am I interrupting something?" A flash of jealousy dashes past his eyes.

Catherine offers him a small smile.

"No. Not really. You ready to go?"

"Yeah," he passes a glance at Grissom, still slumped at his desk.

"What's up with him?"

Gil scoffs.

_Did you tell him yet or just screw up my relationship? _

"I'll tell you in the car. Let's go," she says quickly ushering him out the door.

She passes a final glance over Grissom's slumped countenance and offers him a small squeeze on his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Gil."

He places his hand on top of hers'.

"Not sorrier than I."

She nods in understanding. Then she slowly follows Warrick out of the office.

Shortly after Grissom removes his glasses, rubs his watering eyes and closes the folder in front of him. On his desk a picture of his ex-fiancé stares back at him, helplessly smiling from the front seat of the Big Shot at the top of the Stratosphere. He smirks now remembering that night. It was the night he finally did something about his feelings. It was the night he had proposed.

Suddenly he realizes where she went and what he must do. He wipes a last tear from his eye and stands. He grabs his jacket and heads out the door, locking it behind him.

---

She sits alone, shaking.

For the past decade and a half he had been her world. There wasn't anything he could do wrong. Then slowly she came to know and love him for his imperfections and his weaknesses. Tonight the one man whom she thought she could trust had shattered her heart.

He finds her huddled under a flame-retardant blanket, in her forensic jacket, shivering.

It's a cold Vegas evening but as he takes a step forward he realizes the air is not the reason for her trembling.

He softly steps toward her, not wanting to disturb her, taking in her beauty and the raw pain etched on her face. Pain he had caused.

"Hey."

She whirls her head to meet his gaze, wiping her reddening cheeks. The shock of his discovery immediately turns to anger and rejection. She turns her attention back to the book laid out in front of her. As he steps closer he sees her "12 step book" she received from AA. He gazes at the ground again.

_Great. I drive her to drink. _

He takes another step toward her and then another. She ignores his presence. He sets a canister of hot chocolate next to her and squats down. He stares up at the sky, allowing the cool night air to caress his face. They sit like this for a few moments, silent.

She clears her throat.

"Do you love her?"

"Yes," he answers, honestly.

She nods, accepting.

"Not in the same way I love you."

She stares into his eyes and he smirks.

_There's no way I'm getting off that easy. _

The pain returns.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

_See?_

"I didn't know how to bring it up. It's not like I could've said 'Hey, by the way, before we get married I just want you to know that I shtupped the maid of honor?!'"

She giggles at the absurdity.

"I'm sorry." He holds her trembling hands in his own. "It was a long time ago, a one night thing and-" she stops him with a hand on his cheek.

"Don't cheapen it."

_Now she's concerned for Catherine? Women_.

The playful glint returns to her eye and she smiles.

"Anything else I should know?"

"Well, there was this one time with Sophia..." He grins. She giggles.

"No more secrets?" Sara says, playfully shoving him.

"None."

Without a word she leans into him, the blanket falling from her shoulders. She grazes his lips with her own and gently parts them with her tongue. She pulls away far too early for his liking and unscrews the lid of the thermos, pouring them each a cup of hot cocoa. He takes it and then raises a finger for her to wait a minute. He reaches into his pocket and produces the ring.

"The only thing I will ever regret is losing you…marry me?"

She gives him her hand and he gently puts the ring back where it belongs.

"Forever?"

"Always."

She lays her head on his shoulder and he puts his arm around her. They both gaze up at the sky. She feels him sigh against her and smiles. A look of curiosity crosses her face.

"How did you know where I'd be, anyway?"

_It was the night I realized how incomplete my world was without you…and you became a vegetarian._

He smiles but offers no answer. "We alright?"

"We will be." She kisses him again with more passion than last time.

_Uh-oh._

"Ya know, Cat told me you were her best."

_Um, what? _

He swallows hard.

"Uh-huh."

_Oh there's a smooth line. _

"Think you'll be mine?"

He can't answer, his mind is racing. He reaches out and strokes the side of her face, pulling her back toward him. He gazes in her eyes and winks at her.

"The best?" He ponders a moment and shrugs. "Although, I do intend to be the last."

He raises an eyebrow and lays out the blanket. Instinctively she lies back and he covers her mouth and neck with tiny kisses.

Whether it's the anticipation of being caught or just the sexual tension which had built up to this moment's unclear…but there, in the spot where they had once watched a pig decompose while sharing conversation and coffee, they made love for the first, second and third time.

_Thank G-d for the skeleton crew._

Finis.


End file.
